One-year-old boy is fighting for his life after being shot in the head by a cop during a gas station robbery – and now his mother plans to sue
- Legend Smalls, 1, remains in the ICU after getting shot in the head following a March 3 police shootout at a Houston gas station
- The one-year-old had part of his skull removed and still has bullet fragments lodged in his brain
- He was in his baby seat when an armed man being pursued by police tried to pull his mother out of her vehicle.
- Police opened fire, killing the suspect and seriously wounding the one-year-old
- The baby’s mother, Daisha Smalls, 19, plans to file a lawsuit against police
The mother of a one-year-old boy who is in the ICU fighting for his life after being shot in the head by Houston cop, says that she plans to sue the police.
Legend Smalls remains in intensive care as he recovers from a gunshot wound to the head that has left him in intensive care for weeks.
‘My baby didn’t deserve it,’ Daisha Smalls, 19, told reporters during a press conference. ‘My baby didn’t deserve to be shot. Especially not by the police.’
Smalls, who is black, the shooting may have been racially motivated because she says ‘police shoot first and ask questions later’ when dealing with African Americans.
Scroll down for video
One-year-old Legend Smalls remains in intensive care after being shot in the head by police on March 3 during a standoff at a Houston gas station
Daisha Smalls, 19, says she plans to sue the Houston Police Department after her one-year-old son was caught in crossfire and shot in the head during a standoff with an armed robber at a Houston gas station on March 3
Smalls said bullet fragments remained lodged in her son’s brain and he had part of his skull removed following the March 3 shooting in Houston.
Smalls was at a gas station with her son in a baby seat in the back seat of her car when an armed man being pursued by police tried to pull her out of her vehicle.
A police officer opened fire, killing the suspect and wounding the baby.
Smalls’ attorney Ben Crump, claimed that racial bias may have been a factor in this shooting.
‘They knew she was in the car,’ Crump said. ‘They still shoot anyway, knowing that she’s in the car.’
Smalls was at a gas station with her son in a baby seat in the back seat of her car when an armed man being pursued by police tried to pull her out of her vehicle
A police officer opened fire, killing the suspect and wounding the baby
Houston Police chief Art Acevedo said investigations into the shooting are being conducted
‘Right now in America we’re talking a lot about – when it comes to African Americans – the police shoot first and ask questions later,’ Crump said. ‘And they don’t do that to other citizens.’
Antonio Romanucci, another lawyer for Smalls, said ‘our intention is to file a lawsuit.’
‘We are developing more facts, and once those facts are fully developed, you can anticipate a lawsuit being filed,’ Romanucci said.
‘You do not shoot unless you know what your target is,’ he said. ‘This is not the movies. This isn’t a TV show.’
In a statement, Houston Police chief Art Acevedo said police are ‘hoping and praying for the full and speedy recovery of little one-year-old Legend Smalls’
Acevedo said the Houston Police Department Special Investigations Unit and Internal Affairs Division are investigating the incident and that once investigations are complete police will report their findings.
A GoFundMe page for Legend has already raised more than $4,500 since his shooting.
Smalls, who is black, the shooting may have been racially motivated because she says ‘police shoot first and ask questions later’ when dealing with African Americans
